Why do societies that practice rice cultivation tend to be densely settled and complexly organized? Conrad Totman, Professor of Japanese History at Yale University (Emeritus) responds to this question with an accessible overview of the history of and mechanics behind rice cultivation in Japan.

From 630 to 894, the Japanese court sent a number of official envoys to Tang China. These missions profoundly affected Japan's government, economics, culture and religion. This essay helps clarify how cultural interaction between Japan and China worked during this early era -- an essential element for understanding and teaching East Asian history in the 7th-9th centuries.